MB reviews

08-14-2012, 11:55 PM

Well FINALLY my lower back and Huey got together and put me on full tilt test waves to put the MB through its paces …slightly overhead backhand slabby take-off point..down the line has thick lip hit sections and fuller roundhouse sections..loves to be attacked hard...thick powerful and oily glassy......just like in your dreams...yeeeewww..

did I mention I was out alone................

lets replay the best wave of the session...(this is not me boasting..i'm a kook...its all down to the MB model and a SERIOUSLY dream-like wave...just ask wilko or ace how good it gets)

the ledge dropped out..2 short paddles..tail dropped in letting tail rocker do the work...ran out square and laid it over hard and long on the front foot..lined up the lip and stomped the back foot...the board shot abruptly up vertically and flexed up...as the nose broke through I unloaded and torqued it around with soooo much spring that I got catapulted down out of the lip and before my senses had caught up was into another square bottom turn from way out in front with even more speed ...stuck another tight vert reo just like the first and another big bottom turn and took a high line with speed out wide...wall backed off here to be quite fat but with a steep foam ball in tight...laid it over for a big wide fast roundhouse...was able to slip the tail a couple of times to control the arc and get myself close to vert for the rebound...another bottom turn around the foam and 2 more smaller vert(ish) reo's then the channel....they could hear me hooting myself from up at the cars....

I got about 5-6 more that lined up like this...i played with things a bit...pushed turns harder than needed...went past vertical on the way up and down with no trouble recovering thanks to this rocker...felt out that tail rocker...letting it go and re-gathering it to tweak my direction..this worked reliably in bottom and arcy top turns..and those figure eights...with these smooth well behaved ledgy drops, I delayed my entry for straight free-falls with ease and the board also felt secure locking the rail in on vertical faces for a more “side-slip” take off.......a couple of sections went really fat and I got through to the next suck up with plenty of speed by doing aggressive shoreward s-turns...

I got 3 well shaped rights (forehand) 2 days earlier...set rail take offs with back toes over rail and driving down the line racing the lip to a solid cutty at the shoulder...on one that raced down the line I got a quick vertical hit in without falling behind...that’s thanks to the rocker jack-knifing it up there in a nano-second...

to distill this down...i'm riding the MB long and thin...ie...at my normal shortboard dimensions...602 x 19 x 2 1/2ish...it has a longer rail line in use than a 602 flexfire for example and is not as foiled down, and as such it needs an aggressive approach and a willingness to bury rail and pull it around...in other words, anyone that overpowers a Taj or flexfire or finds them too twitchy will LOVE it..!!...stick with Nevs call and ride it smaller than your “norm”...eg...i should be on the thicker 600...but I wanted some rail in this one...the thicker 602 was too much for me to dominate...

it will ride junk but is made for good to perfect waves and in these conditions will turn an 8 point ride into a 10.....it takes your turns that extra bit beyond the limit..!!...

testing done at 93kg plus 3/2 steamer..futures jc hex preferred...ea techflex had not enough hold in the tip...am2 (large) techflex were too stiff and bound up in small pumps etc.will try the am2 in honeycomb next...

so there ya go...if you are looking for a full rockered shorty to power surf to the formula, then grab the MB one notch under your normal shorty and get out there and displace some water...!!!!

same as the taj but the mb is thicker foiled even in the thin version...this along with the outline make it less twitchy..while it does have a touch more rocker than the flexy, the flexy will feel twitchier..

Comment

I'll put my mates 600 MB next to my 600 Taj and let you know but I think they share the same rocker.

Thanks for that
I have been riding a few of my friends boards lately and have been taking particular notice of tail rockers and have been comparing the speed of ride, ease of turns etc
All in good waves
IMO my personal winner was my 6'1 flexfire round tail
Perfect balance in every way
Just curious about the MB that's all
Thanks again PRJ
Thanks Core

Comment

Yeah I was surprised by the thickness in the rails of the 600 thinner MB. Quite a bit thicker than my CBD of very similar dims and volume. It still thins out in the nose and tail but plenty of volume through that middle section.
Does look like a nice board for a variety of conditions!

yeah...not for the lazy surfer...you have to throw it around, and use force when doing it....but when you do......yeeeeeeewwww......a "bludgers" hp board would be the alt, futura or even the razor..these all still RIP though..!!..

Comment

yeah...not for the lazy surfer...you have to throw it around, and use force when doing it....but when you do......yeeeeeeewwww......a "bludgers" hp board would be the alt, futura or even the razor..these all still RIP though..!!..

How would you compare it with your flexfire and Alternator
Is there any particular wave you wouldn't hesitate to grab it
From your review it sounds like clean and bowly
How fast is each board
At the moment I'm liking the fast and whippy characteristics of my flexfire
Always keen for a backup HP though
The thick version didn't happen for me so as yet haven't ruled out the thin version
Such a good shape

yep, chest high and over bowls...backhand particularly where i can be more aggressive...

all fast in different situations...snagged a freight train slightly o'head right on the MB that went forever..sheet glass..top to bottom evenly folding lip..loooong n faaaast.(think jbay speed)..got in a rhythm of identical hard short bottom turns compressing legs and the boards flex then throwing it down the line pushing similarly through top arcs..nuthin but distance..!!..lip just clipping me the whole way...as fast as ive ever gone..that includes compression spits on guns..(when young and brave/stoopid)..and it was sustained through the whole ride..

the MB and alt have similar benefits..(widths, longer wetted rail line, thicker foil etc)..should ride both a touch shorter than your norm..(i ride my alt oversized for bad back days)..MB for curvy faces, alt for slopey....

flexy is your standard (and by that i mean full tilt) HP shooter..fast, twitchy-ish and will score points in pretty much everything...heavier guys can use the slightly beefed up 6'2 at 18 3/4 x 2 1/2 to great effect in 2 foot semi-slop up to scary..(i dont do scary anymore)..but light weights like Nev at 70 kg rip on it too..

Comment

Time for a another question ha ha
Was riding a friends board with similar volume to mine (Hayden Shapes Blak Cat) and the rocker was somewhat banana ish
I noticed it was significantly slower on the wave face and also slower to paddle
This was all compared to my flexfire
Did you have somewhat of a similar experience with your boards particularly the MB
From the sounds of things you have the MB on a string
The experience has really opened my eyes to rocker designs especially those boards with a severe kick in the tail
Thanks for the photos as well

this is over simplifying things, and other factors come in like concaves for example, but, the more rocker curve, the more it is pushing/plowing water in front of it...this is resistance...paddle difficulty is mainly from the entry rocker...when up and riding, all parts of the rocker can affect your glide depending on the wave shape and how your weighting the board...heavy rockers will still fly, but you have to drive them...on a flat rocker, you can stand still and slide along as the water is not trying to push its way around a curve...you dont have to pump it or jump up and down...(the Huntington hop)..